"ELA" stands for English Language Arts, and in High School, these courses are often/always designated as "English" classes. "Studio" courses are unlike a traditional class set-up in a few important ways:
Blended Instruction: Most of the teacher instruction (directions, examples, demonstrations) is recorded and available for student access on demand which promotes and supports partnering with families, and frees up precious class time for more one-on-one feedback and personalized instruction, as well as peer-to-peer collaboration and feedback.
Teacher-guided Self-Paced structure: While there will be published guidelines and "on-pace" due dates to help students manage their time effectively, students have the freedom to spend more or less time on specific learning challenges, work ahead, combine challenges, and/or collaborate with anyone.
Mastery-Based Grading: Students will demonstrate mastery for each learning objective in a self-evaluation. Once these evaluations are approved by the teacher, the learning objective is complete.
Multi-Age, Multi-Grade Learning Environment: Students will have the opportunity to collaborate and learn alongside peers of different grade levels. Younger students will have the benefit of more experienced students to help guide and advise them on their learning objectives, and older students will have the opportunity to enrich and solidify previous learning by collaborating with and mentoring less experienced students.